This invention relates to an electrical contact assembly, particularly for switchgear assemblies with withdrawable switchgear. The arrangement is of a type typically having two contact pieces, which can be moved relative to one another, and which have a rectangular cross-section at least at their ends facing one another. One of the contact pieces is connected in an articulated manner to a contact carrier in which two rows of individually sprung contact fingers are mounted symmetrically with respect to a central plane. The contact fingers electrically connect the one contact piece to the other contact piece when it is plugged into the assembly. The contact fingers of one row embrace from outside at least one guide comb which has a web and, protruding therefrom, spacing elements which space the contact fingers apart from one another, and which is produced integrally with the contact carrier.
A contact assembly of the above type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,419. The contact carrier consists in this arrangement of a plate bent in a U-shape, the base of which is provided on both sides with indentations and thus forms a guide comb. In each case, one pair of contact fingers engages in an indentation and is thus spaced apart from the neighboring pair. In each case two mutually facing pairs of contact fingers are tensioned with respect to one another by a screw spring with clips. The clips also serve for spacing the contact fingers of a pair apart from one another. At one end, the contact fingers are provided with a hole. A guide bolt which additionally secures the fingers is loosely plugged through the holes of all the contact fingers of one row. At this end of the contact fingers, a multiply bent wire spaces the pairs of contact fingers apart from one another. This contact arrangement consists of a large number of individual parts. In addition to the two contact pieces, the contact carrier and the contact fingers, in each case two guide bolts and wires, four contact fingers, one contact pressure spring and two bolts and clips are required. The assembly of the contact arrangement is therefore costly.
A further contact assembly is disclosed in EP-A1 0 107 611. In this contact arrangement, the guide combs each consist of a punched plate, the center piece of which, bent in a U-shape, with projections, is connected to the sidewalls of the contact carrier. Arms which extend at an acute angle between the contact fingers and form the spacing elements extend from the legs of the center piece which is bent in a U-shape. The contact fingers embrace, with a recess, the U-shaped center part of the guide comb and are thus secured against axial displacement. The contact fingers penetrate the rectangular frame formed from the sidewalls of the contact carrier and of the guide combs, that is to say they embrace the guide combs from inside. In the non-plugged-in state of the contact arrangement, in each case two mutually facing contact fingers abut against one another. In this arrangement, the contact carrier must therefore be assembled from a plurality of parts since it is not possible with the ready-mounted contact carrier to install or remove contact fingers. In each row of fingers there is only a single spring element which is punched out of metal plate and stamped and consists of a central web and arms, the ends of which rest on the ends of the contact fingers, extending therefrom The spring element is supported by the central web on a crosspiece of the contact carrier. This arrangement also consists of a large number of individual parts, namely two spring elements and a contact carrier consisting of six parts (in each case two sidewalls, guide combs and crosspieces), in addition to the two contact pieces and the contact fingers. Mounting is also costly since the contact carrier cannot be fully assembled until the contact fingers have been inserted.
In U.S Pat. No. 3,201,556 a contact assembly is disclosed which has one integral spring element per row of contact fingers. The contact fingers of one row, however, abut against each other so that they cool badly and cannot be move independently of one another. The contact body embraces the spring elements. The latter must therefore be laboriously inserted axially when mounting.